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HARRISBURG, PA (Nov. 9, 2022) — Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, issued the following statement after Josh Shapiro was declared the winner in the election for governor of Pennsylvania and John Fetterman was declared the winner in his race for the U.S. Senate.

“Gov-elect Shapiro has a long track record of supporting public education and Pennsylvania students,” Askey said. “We look forward to working with him and the Legislature to ensure our students continue to have the tools they need to succeed.

“Shapiro recognizes that a major issue awaiting him as governor is how the state can best address crisis-level staffing shortages in our public schools. He is committed to continued investments in education and to working in partnership with educators, school leaders, and families to identify strategies to recruit and retain a new generation of teachers and support professionals.

“Shapiro’s strong showing on Election Day makes it clear that Pennsylvanians aren’t interested in proposals to cut billions in public school funding and redirect it to voucher schemes. They know that those kinds of ideas would end up dismantling the public schools in their communities.

“Shapiro is very focused on ideas that work in public education. Throughout the campaign, Shapiro has promised to reduce the time students spend on standardized tests, keep our schools safe, and expand access to vocational, technical, and computer training as well as other academic and extracurricular pursuits.

“Shapiro also recognizes that too many students are struggling with mental and emotional health issues. He will take steps to ensure that every school building in Pennsylvania has at least one mental health professional so that kids can access help when they need it.

“Just as important, we know that John Fetterman will be a strong voice for public education in the U.S. Senate and will advocate for federal support for programs that work for our public school students and the educators and support professionals who teach and serve them.

“On behalf of the 177,000 educators I represent as PSEA’s president, I want to congratulate Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman and pledge to work with them to make Pennsylvania’s public schools the very best that they can be.”

An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.